In 1852, Staring started the first systematic geological surveying of The Netherlands, completing fieldwork in 1860. A series of 19 geological maps, covering the whole country, was printed from 1858 to 1867. On the occasion of the completion, Staring presented a talk at the Royal Academy of Sciences in which he reviewed the project and evaluated the choices made with regard to, among other things, scale and legend. This talk has never been published, although it reveals both the history of the mapping project and Staring's ideas concerning the presentation of information on geological maps. The manuscript, which is part of the collection of the university library of Wageningen University, has been quoted in the past by some Dutch scientists. The present contribution is meant to make it accessible to all interested geologists.